Safety first

First came the car accident. Then the train wreck.

Or at least that's what it seemed like to Otis Wiley, whiffing on tackles and giving up two long touchdown passes in front of 75,000 gasping spectators in a loss to Northwestern last season. The next week, when he didn't play a snap, he heard the whispers.

"A lot of people were saying, 'He's done,' " Wiley said. "It was hard to press on after that."

It took some reality, some reminders of football's place in the world, to help Wiley rediscover his place on the football field. The Flint native and son of a preacher appears to have found it.

Today, as MSU prepares for its home opener against Eastern Michigan, Wiley looks like one of the best players on the team. Just like he was supposed to be a year ago.

Wiley opened his senior season with a hard-hitting, two-interception effort in last week's loss at Cal. One of those picks went for a touchdown, the other prevented one.

Both served notice that Wiley is comfortable enough in coach Mark Dantonio's defensive system to unleash his physical abilities and make plays.

"He can be (in the NFL), I really believe that," MSU defensive backs coach Harlon Barnett said. "If he continues to play like he did (last week), he'll definitely be able to do it because he'll wow 'em at the (scouting) combine with his size, speed and athleticism. ... Last year did surprise me, from what I knew about the kid. But to his credit, he kept working."

Rough patch

Things already weren't going as Wiley planned, five games into the 2007 season. He was having a tough time adjusting to his role in the new defense.

"It was just understanding what (Dantonio) wanted," Wiley said. "At first we didn't see eye to eye on some things. I was going from being an aggressive player all the time (under John L. Smith) to being more of a coverage safety."

On Oct. 5, the day before a home game against Northwestern, Wiley's brother-in-law, T.J. Horton, was thrown from his vehicle in a car accident in Flint. Horton was banged up and struggling to breathe in the hospital.

Things were dicey for a few hours, but Wiley finally got word that Horton would survive and be OK. He gave a prayer of thanks and resolved to play for Horton the next day.

"I decided to use it as motivation," Wiley said. "And then I got scored on. It was like it backfired on me."

Wiley came off the bench against the Wildcats, for the first time all season. Then his open-field mistakes were on display for all to see, leading to touchdown passes of 78 and 70 yards in Northwestern's 48-41 overtime upset.

He didn't play the next week, a victory over Indiana. The unthinkable was happening to the guy who had led MSU in tackles in 2006, who was supposed to be the team's top defensive player.

"I had to drop my daddy cloth and go into my preacher cloth," said Wiley's father, also named Otis. "I reminded him to keep reading the proverbs, one a day. I told him, 'Make sure you go through things for a purpose. Either you grow from it or you don't.' "

The next week, MSU was getting drilled 24-0 at Ohio State when Wiley got on the field, stepped in front of a Todd Boeckman pass, returned it 54 yards to the end zone and appeared to be overcome with relief by the time he got there.

Wiley's football comeback began at that moment. His psychological comeback had already begun.

Getting the call

Friday nights before home games, the Spartans stay together in the Kellogg Center on campus. Thursday is the time for social endeavors.

So how did Wiley spend the this past Thursday night? He was at DeWitt's JV football game with Brandon Gordon, a 15-year-old who is battling osteosarcoma, or bone cancer.

"They've become buddies," said Angela Howard, who coordinates community outreach as associate director of MSU's student-athlete support services. "Otis is definitely one of my main, if not the main, go-to guys for football. Call him and he's going to be there, and he does it for the right reasons."

Wiley has been involved in the community since arriving at MSU, but the past several months have left a mark. He has become close with Gordon and James Stanley, a 14-year-old from Holt with the same condition.

He was crushed in January when Natalie Freiburger died of ovarian cancer. Freiburger was an 11-year-old MSU fan from Charlotte who came to know Wiley, Javon Ringer, A.J. Jimmerson, Ross Weaver and former MSU basketball player Drew Neitzel in her final months.

In June, Wiley spent a couple weeks with the homeless in Los Angeles, in a project coordinated by Christian organization Athletes in Action. The experience was horrific and inspiring at the same time.

"I always knew he had a calling in life, and I knew the Lord eventually was going to call him," Wiley's father said. "I think he found it. He called me (from Los Angeles) and said, 'Dad, we as a people take too many things for granted.' "

The elder Wiley, who has been a preacher since 1997, is not working regularly at a church this fall because he and his wife, Jacqueline, are traveling to all their son's games.

Meanwhile, he said he's enjoying "watching my son's ministry grow."

Wiley believes the eye-opening experiences off the field have helped strengthen him on the field.

That's not the whole story, of course. Wiley has come to know MSU's defense inside and out. He has improved at watching film and using it to his advantage.

He loves football. After the Bible, Ronnie Lott's autobiography is his favorite book. He wants to play in the NFL after college is finished.

Whether he makes the pros or not, he aspires to be a youth counselor or a pastor, or both.

When Wiley was issued the No. 21 jersey at MSU, he came up with a Biblical meaning - the "2" represents the Father and the Son, the "1" represents the Holy Ghost.

His dad was especially impressed with the spiritual creativity.

"Of course," Wiley said with a smile, "the first thing I thought was Deion Sanders."